Detective Bloch pulled up the surveillance video. While he scrolled through it, he asked if Studs Fedora saw anything new, but he didn't...until he did. There it was, in all its grainy monochrome glory: a darkened street, Studs himself talking with Bricks Bennett, and then two familiar faces leaving the hotel where Merton Lotts lay dead. In that one image, Studs saw everything.
Bloch, the police detective in charge of the Lotts case, listened with a patient expression, clearly waiting for Studs Fedora to run out of breath. So Studs simply kept talking until Bloch surrendered and led the way to the video terminal.
The next day when Cara went out, Studs Fedora did too. He eased gingerly into his suit and made his way to one of his least favorite places. Studs saw himself reflected in the mirrored sunglasses of the patrolman leaving the station, and he paused to get his head on straight. Then he took a deep breath, went inside, and asked to see a detective.